IONIA — Cory Ryan, 41, exchanged gunfire with police on West Main Street after shooting two people June 22 near downtown Ionia. Ryan was killed in the incident. The incident unfolded as officers from the Ionia Department of Public Safety responded to a call at 10:37 a.m. near 926 W. Main St. near Yeomans.

After speaking with neighbors, the suspect exited the residence with a gun, shooting two people and firing six rounds at officers, according to Ionia Department of Public Safety Interim Director Troy Thomas.

Officers from the Michigan State Police and Ionia County Sheriff's Office entered the scene and Ryan began walking east on West Main Street, carrying a gun that resembled a rifle.

Then-Undersheriff Dale Miller said Ryan failed to obey orders to drop the weapon and confronted a deputy, firing a round at the officer. The deputy returned fire and fatally injured Ryan. After an investigation, Ionia County Prosecutor Ron Schafer said the deputy was justified in the shooting and acted in a legal manner when he used deadly force against Ryan.

"This tragic situation was likely suicide-by-cop," Schafer concluded. The two victims, both in their 20s, were taken to Sparrow Ionia Hospital with non-life threatening injuries.

2. Ionia County Sheriff Dwain Dennis retires

IONIA COUNTY — After 14 years at the helm of the Ionia County Sheriff's Office, and 42 years in law enforcement, Sheriff Dwain Dennis retired at the close of 2012.

"It's time to step aside and let someone else take a shot at it," he said. Dennis began his career in 1970 as a patrol officer in Detroit.

He joined the ICSO in 1972 as a jail officer and road deputy, later becoming a detective, and then sheriff in 1998. Dennis said a keystone of his tenure has been his commitment to care and respect of individuals in the community.

"Everyone who passes through the jail is a member of the community," he said. "I've always felt an obligation to do everything we can to make them a better person when they go back out on the street."

Dennis was active in implementing a county-wide mental health jail diversion program; creating partnerships between law enforcement, older adults and community groups; and worked with "Fight Crime: Invest in Kids." Dennis also worked to professionalize the sheriff's department.

"I just love being sheriff. I've loved coming to work every day, and I'm going to miss people I've been privileged to work with," Dennis said. "I'm a little apprehensive (about retiring), but you know when it's time to go."

Undersheriff Dale Miller was elected to succeed Dennis as Ionia County Sheriff in the general election Nov. 6.

3. EHD strikes Ionia County deer

IONIA COUNTY — This year saw the rise of epizootic hemorrhagic disease (EHD) in white-tailed deer throughout the county that struck concern in the hearts of local hunters.

EHD, which is transmitted by a biting midge, which is a type of biting fly, causes internal bleeding, fever, appetite loss, delirium and other symptoms before the deer succumbs to the disease. Most dead deer were found in the Pewamo and Muir areas along the Maple River.

Members of the local Michigan Department of Public Resources (DNR) office hosted numerous informational meetings to keep the public updated about the disease, the reported numbers and that any deer infected with the disease was safe to eat.

The DNR reported more than 2,000 reports of EHD and did not cancel hunting season, but it did limit antlerless deer licenses in the areas where the most die-offs occurred from the disease.

Though some hunters chose not to hunt this year to keep herd numbers up, many still took to the woods and fields to bag a prized doe or buck. Numbers of registered deer at the Flat River Field Office in Belding were normal on opening day of firearm season.

Official statewide numbers will not be available until spring.

4. Funeral home employee charged with multiple felonies

PORTLAND — Marti Schrauben, 38, of Portland, was arrested for allegedly bilking insurance companies and customers out of $500,000 from 2008 through 2010 while he was an employee at Schrauben-Lehman Funeral Home in Ionia.

Schrauben was arraigned on 27 counts, including racketeering and embezzlement, in Ionia County 64A District Court July 26. Authorities said he allegedly created false death certificates and sent them to insurance companies to receive payment from funeral policies.

Schrauben also allegedly accepted money for pre-paid funerals from customers of the funeral home and then, instead of placing the money into escrow accounts as required by state law, embezzled the money.

Although Schrauben's name is associated with the funeral home, he had previously sold all his interest in the company and was working as an employee at the time the alleged crimes took place, said Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette.

Michael Lehman, owner of Lehman Funeral Home, said he is in the process of getting his clients' money back by working with insurance companies and the bank. He has met with several of the families who were victims of the alleged embezzlement to assure them that he will honor the funeral agreement they made with the funeral home.

"I really feel bad this happened, for the community, and I'm just trying to make it right," Lehman said. "That's all I can do."

A trial has been set for 8 a.m. Feb. 8 in Ionia County 8th Circuit Court.

5. Man convicted of family's arson deaths in Ionia goes free

CARSON CITY — 2012 brought freedom to David Gavitt. Convicted in 1986 of the arson deaths of his wife and two daughters, Gavitt was serving three life sentences when the Michigan Innocence Clinic took on his case three years ago.

After extensive examination of trial records and evidence, Ionia County Prosecutor Ron Schafer acknowledged that Gavitt was entitled to a new trial and that the prosecutor's office was not going to retry him.

Chief Circuit Court Judge Suzanne Hoseth-Kreeger ordered that Gavitt's charges be dismissed. On June 6, after 26 years in prison, Gavitt was released from the Carson City Correctional Facility.

"An expert in arson litigation pointed us to a scientist at the forefront of exposing errors made in the old days of arson investigation," said Imran Syed, attorney with the Michigan Innocence Clinic. "David's case was a classic example of that."

A fire in the Gavitts' Ionia home on March 9, 1985, killed Gavitt's wife, Angela, 26, and their daughters, 2 1/2-year-old Katrinia and 10-month-old Tracy. Gavitt, who had been hospitalized for injuries he sustained in the fire, was arrested and charged with their murders.

Schafer called the investigation done in 1985 "top-notch," and the standards used "state of the art," but said evidence introduced in Gavitt's trial to support arson claims was based on "bad science."

"Ultimately, this remains a case in which the lives of three innocent people were taken by a fire that can only be classified as having an undetermined origin and cause," Schafer said.

6. Belding High School completes new facilities

BELDING — Students at Belding High School are enjoying a number of new facilities that enhance sports, learning and the arts.

The additions were part of a $38 million, district-wide bond project to provide facilities, resources and technology that will benefit students and staff. Groundbreaking at the high school took place in the spring of 2011.

Hallways, classrooms and bathrooms have been updated and new lockers and flooring have been installed. The gymnasium is an expansive, two-story area that includes an elevated track, horseshoe seating, modern scoreboard and sound equipment and large windows facing north.

A weight room also overlooks the gym. The new auditorium seats 550 people, provides energy-efficient sound and lighting equipment, and provides backstage costume and scenery area.

Elevated catwalks help crew members travel behind the scenes and cast members are able to use a balcony outcropping and large stage for performances.

New band and choir rooms also were added. In addition, all of the athletic fields received significant upgrades, gaining synthetic playing surfaces, making sure fields are level and have adequate draining capabilities.

The main entrance to BHS was recently completed, and the former auditorium and commons area is still under construction.

Other upgrades have been completed at Belding Middle School, Ellis Elementary School and Woodview Elementary School.

7. Freedom Wall revealed on Veterans Day

BELDING — Months after a ground breaking ceremony took place on Memorial Day, the Belding Freedom Wall was revealed to community members on Veterans Day.

The memorial was planned and organized by local VFW Post #4406 member Denny Craycraft in 2011, and Belding City Council members approved the wall's location west of the Pere Marquette Depot.

During the reveal event, Craycraft gave a brief history of the previous wall that was decommissioned in 1948, how the new project began, how far it has come and mentioned the other memorials that will be placed in the vicinity.

He also addressed the World War II veterans who were in attendance for the reveal, calling them the "backbone of this community and the backbone of the nation."

Cheers erupted from the hundreds of attendees as a number of local Belding veterans helped remove a curtain from the wall.

Craycraft said although brick laying and additional concrete needs to be placed at the site, the wall will offer healing and comfort for the citizens of Belding as they are able to find and touch the names on the structure.

The site continues to grow, but is still in need of funding.

8. Teacher, former Major League Baseball player faced teen sex charges

IONIA COUNTY — Former Saranac High School teacher Krag Sanford, 59, who had a sexual relationship in 2010 with a then-16-year-old female student, pleaded no contest to two felony counts of distributing sexually explicit materials to a minor in May.

He was sentenced July 31 in Ionia County Circuit Court by Chief Judge Suzanne Hoseth Kreeger to nine months in the Ionia County Jail on one count and to 24 months probation on the second count.

Kreeger also denied a request to remove the no-contact order in place between Sanford and the victim, who was pregnant with his child.

Sanford also pleaded no contest in Kent County 17th Circuit Court to charges that he accosted a minor for immoral purposes. He was sentenced Aug. 15 to six months in jail, to run concurrently with the nine-month sentence received in Ionia County, plus four years probation and registration on the state's sex offender registry.

Sanford already had surrendered his teaching certificate.

Former major league outfielder Chad Curtis was ordered to stand trial on charges he touched two female students at Lakewood High School in Lake Odessa, where he was a volunteer strength trainer in the school's weight room.

Barry County District Judge Michael Schipper ruled June 22 that Curtis is to be tried on five counts of criminal sexual conduct.

Schipper also told the 43-year-old Curtis he no longer is allowed to coach his 12-year-old son's travel baseball team. Defense lawyer David Dodge Sr. has said his client denies any criminal wrongdoing.

9. The Belding Exploration Lab opens

BELDING — After almost two years of hard work and preparation, The Belding Exploration Lab (BEL) opened its doors to children and parents Oct. 13.

The BEL, located inside the Belrockton Museum, opened to the public, welcomed children of all ages and their parents to play in its eight separate rooms featuring a variety of fun and educational themes ranging from history to local wildlife.

Six states and 17 communities contributed to the BEL in one way or another to make it the best it can be for local and visiting children.

Each colorful room, including "Adventure on the Flat," "In Your Ear," "Up, Up and Away," "Production Junction," "How Things Work," "Back in Time," "Can You Dig It?" and "Down on the Farm," hosts hands-on displays to enhance the interactive experience of each child visitor.

The Belding Exploration Lab is open from 1 to 5 p.m. every second and fourth Wednesday and from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. every second and fourth Saturday. It is located inside the Belrockton Museum, at 108 Hanover St.

Admission is free, but donations can be made at the door.

10. Colorado dog surfaces in Ionia

IONIA COUNTY — The story of Namme, a petite and plucky bichon/poodle mix who turned up in Ionia after disappearing from her home in Colorado Springs, Colo., two and a half years ago, captured the hearts of Sentinel-Standard readers in 2012.

The dog was "not in the best shape" when she was brought to the Ionia County Animal Shelter in early September after wandering up and down Lafayette Street all day, said Lindsay Beill, then the county's animal care and control manager. Per protocol, Beill scanned Namme for a microchip – and found one.

"It doesn't happen often enough, but it's great when it does," she said.

Animal Control Officer Gordy Douglas called Beth Cole of Colorado Springs that afternoon.

"He said, 'We have a small apricot and white dog. We checked the microchip, and it is registered to you, and we would like to know if this is your dog,'" Cole said. "I think I was too stunned to cry or laugh."

Both Douglas and Cole were baffled by the 1,300 mile-distance between them. The 9-year-old dog had never been to Michigan, although Cole's sister, Paula Pulter, is a teacher in Okemos.

Cole said she has always advocated microchipping. Now she asks everyone she meets whether their dogs are microchipped. Namme and Cole were reunited Sept. 15 in Roscoe, Ill., where the extended family had gathered for a wedding.

"We are all so happy," Cole said.

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